Unfinished Memories
by xxSilverEchoxx
Summary: Sasuke/Sakura. AU. One-shot. She has a lethal disease, and he cannot stand to lose her. She thinks of him as a friend, and he finds her to be his most precious person. "Please, God, don't let her leave me...she's all I have left..."


**Disclaimer: **I don't own Naruto.

_Note: _The italicized and non-italicized mixed passages throughout the story are both flashbacks and scenes from the future - you'll figure it out. :)

**Unfinished Memories**

* * *

If you could choose between life and death, what would you choose?

_Intent eyes, searching for an answer on a blank face._

…life, most definitely.

_Silence. The searching eyes water ever so slightly._

Why life?

_Numb eyes spark with a hint of something not even the searching eyes can perceive:_

_An unspoken thought, leading to unfinished memories._

Because you're in it.

* * *

White walls were all he could see. They loomed above, surrounding him, suffocating him. He glanced at his mother's hand - entwined tightly with his - as if to make sure she had not faded away; because the white walls would steal her if he wasn't careful.

After all, they had taken his brother.

"Mother?" His voice was quiet, wavering minutely.

"Yes, Sasuke?" She averted her eyes from the T.V. implanted into the wall, looking at him in question.

"Do you think Brother is in Heaven right now?"

For some reason he could not comprehend, tears formed in her eyes. She lowered her head, shaking it back and forth slowly, the tears dripping onto her lap. A quiet sob escaped her mouth.

She stayed silent the rest of the time, until the doctor appeared so they could sign releases on his brother's body.

* * *

Where are your parents, Sakura?

_She turns away and shrugs. _I have no clue. They could be dead or frolicking in Africa for all I care.

_His eyes narrow. _So they left you?

...I guess so. I was six when they disappeared, and I haven't seen them since.

_She looks up at him and smiles. _But that's all in the past! Let's go to the park, unless you want to do something else.

_He shakes his head and follows her._

_He knows she is hurt, deep within her soul._

_But he'll do his best to keep it at bay._

* * *

A year later, at age nine, he learned that his brother had been a murderer.

His mother and father were fighting in the kitchen. Mother screamed that it was Father's fault for pushing Itachi too hard during his life. Father yelled that she had been too easy on him, letting their son get mixed up with gangs and drugs. Mother screamed back an incoherent reply.

And then Father slapped Mother across the cheek.

Sasuke never saw her again after that, for she had run away.

* * *

He visited the hospital often after his mother left. His father rarely spoke to him, save for the occasional questions on how he was doing in school, if he needed money for anything…

He rarely saw his father, also. If it wasn't watching his back as he left the house with no explanation, it was sitting on the couch with a bottle of alcohol in hand, staring at a picture of his mother.

Lonely eyes, silent screams, and blood as his father took a razor to his own flesh.

And it was during these times that Sasuke really hoped that God was somewhere out there, eventually going to offer him the salvation he so desperately craved.

* * *

He walked through the white halls in comfortable silence. Nurses and doctors rushed by, saving lives and healing injuries. They barely even glanced at him, the little ten-year-old Uchiha wandering the halls as if he was searching for something.

He passed patients' rooms, filled with the old and dying, the young and helpless. They all seemed peaceful, in an eerie way. They were either recovering, looking for a cure, or awaiting the day when their life would be no more.

* * *

_A lean body being carried on a stretcher, blood coating every visible inch of it._

_The doctors hover over the body, desperately trying to revive an already lost cause. Orders are yelled, and tears stream down agonized faces._

_Screams reverberate down the streets, gunshots fire. The high-pitched cry of a police siren echoes._

_But even through all the chaos, all Sasuke can hear is the low droning sound as a machine flat lines._

…_Itachi is dead._

* * *

One patient's door was wide open, and Sasuke glanced into it, curious as to why the patient would want to be visible to the people passing by.

A small girl - who looked no older than Sasuke himself - sat cross-legged on the bed, her eyebrows furrowed in concentration. Her eyes were completely focused on the task she was performing.

Sasuke's own eyes widened as he saw that she was about to inject an IV needle into her own arm.

"What are you doing?" he yelled, rushing forward to stop her. He had seen how easily his father was able to draw blood with a razor - this girl could kill herself if she used the needle the wrong way.

The girl jerked her head up, and the hand holding the needle jerked also. It dug into her arm, and she let out a small, "Ouch!" By this time Sasuke had reached her; full of anxiety, he removed the needle from her hand and placed it carefully on the bedside table.

"Well, this is just grand," the girl muttered. "Now I'm bleeding profusely, and there's a rabid boy in my room." She glared at him. "Go away, Rabid Boy, before your bad luck kills me."

His eyes widened. "But - you were about to inject that needle into yourself! Shouldn't the nurses do that?"

The girl stared blandly at him. "And why do you care?"

At his silence, she turned away and grabbed a roll of gauze from the bedside table, efficiently covering the deep gash in her arm. Sasuke watched her push back a lock of her short, pink hair that had fallen into her face.

Her green eyes glanced warily to his still form before they scoured the room around her. Her searching stopped when she caught sight of a roll of tape sitting on the one chair in the room. It was about two yards from her bed.

For a fraction of a moment, Sasuke saw a flash of panic in her eyes before it vanished.

Unsure, he asked quietly, "Would you like me to get it for y -"

The girl's eyes - now raging with blind fury - fixed upon his. "I can get it myself!" she yelled at him. "Don't treat me as if I'm weaker than you!"

Sasuke backed away from the girl, his hands held up slightly in forgiveness. His mouth opened to reply, but she glared even harder. "Why don't you just leave?"

Sasuke lowered his hands and tried to ignore the flash of rejection he felt within him. He turned quickly and exited the room, fully prepared to leave the girl behind. But then he heard the sound of a bed creaking, and curiosity drew him back to the opening of the room.

Thankfully the girl didn't see him as she sat with her legs hanging over the edge of her bed (her feet were about a foot from the ground). Her shoulders were shaking, her head bowed as she took in several deep, ragged breaths.

Slowly, she lowered herself to the ground, the gauze falling from her arm, leaving her grotesque wound exposed. The girl's fingers clutched desperately at the sheets of her bed, but she gradually released them and took an unbalanced step toward the chair with the tape on it. A cord protruding from her skin followed. Her breathing quickened immensely, and her trembling increased.

Sasuke watched as one of the many monitors in the room started to spike with jagged lines, a high-pitched beeping accompanying it. The cord in the girl's skin led to it.

_(A low drone as his brother died…)_

The girl took another step forward, and another, seemingly unaware of the machine behind her. She was now about two feet from the chair, and her eyes resonated with triumph.

She moved to take the last step, when suddenly her gaze flashed to Sasuke's watching form. Her eyes widened considerably, and at the same time the beeping went into a static frenzy.

Sasuke watched as the girl's eyes rolled into the back of her head, and she dropped to floor.

* * *

Sakura, watch where you're going!

_His voice carries over the sound of crashing waves._

This is so much fun, Sasuke! Come catch me!

_Her grinning face, eyes crinkled at the edges, the sunset alighting her features in gold._

_And he smiles a small, content smile._

All right, but I'm just warning you that you're going to lose.

_Her laughter is more beautiful than anything he's ever heard. _

_Two figures running along a white beach, their forms black against the fading sun._

* * *

He held her hand as the nurses placed her back on the bed.

There had been quite an uproar, the doctors streaming in and furiously pumping medicine into her unconscious body. Thankfully, no surgery was needed.

Sasuke watched the nurses recheck all the machines that tracked the readings of the girl's body.

They gave him a wary and disbelieving look when he explained that he was the girl's brother (of course, it was only a lie so they wouldn't make him leave).

After they left, he continued to sit with her, his eyes locked upon her face. Her lips were parted slightly as she took in shallow breaths; her pink eyebrows were furrowed minutely; and he could see her eyes darting rapidly back and forth from beneath her eyelids - she was probably dreaming.

* * *

_The nights after the death of Itachi were filled with nothing but blood, endless blood, and silence._

_His wavering voice. _Help me. Please, someone…anyone…

_And it was in those nights that the line dividing reality from his dreams vanished._

_A dark, empty void that never ceases, no matter how far he runs._

…save me…

* * *

He didn't see her again until three years later.

He had just turned thirteen, and was celebrating his birthday by walking along the pier, biting contentedly into the ripe tomato he held. His free hand was stuffed into the pocket of his dark jeans, and the hood of his navy blue jacket was pulled up to protect his face from the onslaught of bitter wind. The constant, repeated sound of the ocean roaring in and out calmed his senses immensely. He cleared his mind of everything but the ocean, and he found - however brief the moment - serenity.

_La la, la la la la la, la la la la laaaa…_

His eyes closed as he leaned against the white, wooden railing. Chips of paint - worn down from the harsh, salty air - flaked onto his jacket, but he failed to notice them.

_Listen to the wind now, listen to it sing…_

_Troubles lifted to the air as distant church bells ring…_

His brows furrowed. He knew that melody, the gentle, pure tune. Vaguely, he wondered where it was coming from.

_Waves breaking upon the shore, glistening fine as light…_

_May we dance and hope to live to see our battles die…_

A soft laugh.

His eyes flew open.

_La la, la la la la la, la la la la laaaa…_

Pink hair swirled unbidden as another gust of wind passed by. Pale jade eyes glanced at him, radiant and luminous with freedom as she took another breath to sing.

_And given that we might as well sleep forevermore…_

_We'll wait until the time is right and our memories shall be restored…_

It was her.

The girl from the hospital. The one who had been so physically fragile that she couldn't even walk two yards without collapsing.

She was here, sitting right next to him, and he hadn't even noticed.

Slowly, she smiled at him. "Isn't that such a beautiful song? I used to be able to play it on the piano, but…I forgot how."

Sasuke could only continue to stare.

She reached up to brusquely push back her flowing hair. "Hi," she said, reaching out a hand, "I'm Sakura. And you are?"

"I - I'm…my name is…" He halted in his failed attempt at words when he noticed how she was sitting; his eyes widened and he reached out to pull her back. "Sitting on the rail is dangerous!" he exclaimed, worry coating his normally even voice. "You need to get down, quickly! You could fall back and -"

Her eyes locked on his reaching hands, her expression turning to one akin to terrified. "Don't touch me!" she screamed. "Please, don't -"

In her desperate attempt to get away from him, she lost her balance and slipped from the railing. But to Sasuke's horror, she fell away from him. Away from him, and towards the churning ocean below.

In a flash, his hand reached out to grab hers, but he wasn't prepared to pull her up…

…and he fell with her.

* * *

_Falling. Lonely. Searching. _

_Lost._

_Itachi and his mother are gone. He fears that his father will leave him, too._

Please don't go.

_His memories are the only things he has left. _

_And he knows they are not enough - they never will be._

Don't leave me here all alone, always wanting more.

_And then he meets the girl in the hospital._

_Reaching. Grasping. Believing._

_Found._

* * *

"Sakura!" he yelled, bursting to the surface of the water. His eyes frantically scanned the white-capped waves for her pink hair.

When he couldn't find her, his lungs seemed to be unable to hold air any longer.

Then he heard laughter.

"This is the most fun I've had in ages!" her voice called, laden with delight.

He whipped around to find her floating on her back, apparently oblivious to the barely-above-freezing water. A satisfied smile had carved its way onto her face.

"Sakura, we need to get out of here," he said, swimming elegantly toward her. "We'll freeze to death if we don't." He noticed that his body was shivering significantly, and mentally noted that he was going to need a _very_ warm shower when he got home.

She didn't even glance at him, just continued to gaze at the darkening sky. "But it's so pretty…I don't want to leave…"

He frowned. "I'm not going to let you freeze out here."

Sakura sighed profoundly, and finally looked him in the eyes. "Fine, I'll go."

"Good. Now let's get moving before we're not able to."

* * *

I'm never going to let you go.

_An uncompromising, somber glare that smolders like black fire._

_She gulps. Turns away. _

_And answers softly_, I wish "never" was a truthful word.

_He freezes._

But it isn't.

_Her vanishing footsteps echo in his ears._

_She's hiding something._

* * *

They reached the shore in a short matter of minutes. Sasuke stood on the pure white sand, shivering violently as he waited for Sakura to join him. She gasped heavily as she brought herself to feet, and winced.

"Are you all right?" he asked, taking a step toward her.

Her head snapped up to look at him. "Yeah," she breathed, wrapping her arms around herself. "I'm fine."

Sasuke stared at her, and she gazed circumspectly back.

He was surprised to find himself voicing his whirling thoughts as he softly asked, "Do you remember me?"

She blinked, and he sucked in a quick bout of air at the sight of her perplexity. "We've met before?" she replied, her tone curious.

He nodded slightly.

Her brows furrowed. "I'm sorry, but you don't look familiar."

* * *

Don't ignore me.

_Please don't go._

You'll never be able to survive on your own.

_I can't live without you._

You're sick, Sakura. Don't do this to yourself.

_Your pain is killing me; I want to be there for you whenever it takes over._

You're just bringing yourself closer to the end.

_God, save her. Don't let her leave me._

Sakura…

_Can't you see you're all I have left?_

_Can't you see the way I look at you?_

_Can't you _understand _that I like you?_

_Don't do this to me. Because if you go… _

…do what you want. Leave. I don't care anymore.

…_I'll be right behind you._

* * *

She excused herself, and left without a trace that day. Sasuke was left standing on the beach, staring after her long after she had disappeared, slowly being washed over by heavy, grey clouds.

And he swore and wanted, ever so intensely, to punch something. But there was nothing but the sand, the ocean, and the city far beyond.

They all seemed so barren and unremarkable now that he had finally seen her again.

* * *

_He glares, intense and livid, at the hand that is entwined with hers._

Sasuke! _Her eyes gleam with utter delight. _Why don't you come to the mall with us? Come on, don't give me that look - you need to get out once in a while!

_Damn it. Damn it all to hell._

_She frowns. _Sasuke?

_Why? Why do you have to infuriate me like this?_

_A pair of slit brown eyes meet his burning black ones. _Come on, Sasuke! Maybe we can find you a girlfriend or something - there are plenty of willing women in those kind of public places.

_Plenty. But not enough. Unless it's her, it will _never _be enough._

_All he wants is her. But she's not his. She belongs to someone else now._

I swear, _Sakura drawls, _the day we get some kind of response from you will be the day I die.

_His eyes widen._

Don't _ever _say that again, Sakura. _He didn't expect to become so angry._

_But she said it. That horrid word he never wants to hear when it comes to anything about her._

Say what, Sasuke?

_If he stays any longer, he will definitely hurt someone. His fury has risen beyond control. So he storms away, leaving Sakura and…and the center of his newfound insanity behind._

Kiba, what's gotten into him? He doesn't usually act like that. _Her voice is coated with concern._

_Her boyfriend shakes his head. _I have no idea. You know him better than I do.

_She. Does. Not. Belong. To. Me._

_And it is that realization - that _constant _thought that circles his mind - that sends him over the edge._

_When he gets home, he finds a bottle of his father's vodka._

_And he drinks until the bliss of insensitivity consumes him._

* * *

Another year passed before their next meeting.

To his immense pleasure, he found her at the high school he had just started attending. She was sitting near the bushes by the main gate, her face buried in her drawn-up knees. She was secluded from the rest of the students that passed by on their way to class. To his keen eyes, it seemed as if she was listening to an iPod.

He approached her slowly, as a tamer would a distraught animal. Even if it looked as though she was sleeping, he didn't want to frighten her. Softly, he tapped on her shoulder.

"Oh, crap!"

Her sudden outburst startled him, and he took an unstable step back. She flashed to her feet, eyes wide, hair slightly tousled. Her pale green eyes slid over him before she ripped out her ear buds and stuffed them in her jacket pocket.

"I'm going to be late, I'm going to be late, gotta hurry, gotta hurry," she muttered to herself as she dug around in her backpack, eventually whipping out a folded piece of paper. Her eyes skimmed over the top of it. "Okay, Room 207 in the Q Building…"

She paused, finally glancing at Sasuke, who still stood before her. "Hey," she said quickly, "do you know where this is? I don't have a map."

Sasuke kept his eyes on her for a few seconds longer before he moved to see her schedule. His brows furrowed, and he silently grabbed his own schedule from his jeans pocket. Comparing them, he saw that they had two classes together - first period Spanish I and sixth period P.E.

"I know," he responded passively. "We have first period together. I'll show you."

She smiled. "Thanks. I really appreciate it, because I can't afford to be late. I'm planning on being a doctor, you see, so I need the best grades I can get."

Sasuke smirked a little at her rushed words.

"Hey," she said as they began to walk toward their first period class, "you look really familiar…I think I've met you before…"

She stared at him, her eyes scanning over his features. Sasuke let her figure it out, inwardly amused.

"Oh, that's right!" she exclaimed. "You're the one who pushed me off that pier a year ago."

He frowned - however true, it was not exactly the way he wanted her to remember him.

"Ah, so you do remember," he murmured, sliding his eyes over to glance at her.

Sakura grinned, and reached up to pull her hair into a messy ponytail. "Yeah, I do, as a matter of fact, and I also remember that you never told me your name."

He shrugged nonchalantly. "Is it necessary?"

"Not really, but I just wanted to thank you properly for trying to save me that day - even if you failed." She beamed.

He shoved his hands into his pockets, letting his bangs fall into his face. "My name is Sasuke. Sasuke Uchiha," he said quietly.

"Well, then, Sasuke Uchiha, thank you for pushing me twenty feet into the ocean."

He frowned once again, but she continued to smile as she said, "Ah, come one, I'm just joking. No need to glower so harshly."

Sasuke resisted the urge to roll his eyes.

Together they turned a corner, and their classroom was presented before them. Sasuke thought for a fraction of a second before he strode ahead of her to open the door. He held it and stepped out of the way to let her pass first.

As she walked through, she said, "Thank you" and rewarded him with another of her bright smiles.

And he found himself wanting to smile back for the first time in his life. But, of course, he didn't.

* * *

_She skips merrily ahead of him, her hair a halo of pink behind her._

Sasuke, why aren't you happy? Aren't you having fun?

_Her eyes, hurt and confused, turn to meet his._

_It's just the two of them today. No Kiba, no uncertainties. _

_When he speaks, the words come out gradually. _I…am happy.

But you never smile, Sasuke. Why don't you smile?

_He considers this._

…I guess I don't know how.

_She tilts her head to the side. _So you've never smiled before?

Not any time I remember.

_And she grins for the nth time that day._

That's okay, Sasuke. I'll just keep smiling enough for the both of us.

* * *

They walked out of the school's gym together, the sound of their synchronized footsteps filling the empty hallway. While she spoke animatedly to him, he discretely looked her over, wondering silently how she had been transformed from the weak girl who'd passed out from walking, to this joyful look-a-like whose rapid speed of talking nearly made him dizzy.

She was wearing a snug red T-shirt coupled with faded grey jeans, her plain black jacket hanging loosely on her shoulders. Her skin was flawless, and her bangs fell out of her untidy (but he found it very endearing) ponytail to frame her high cheekbones. Pale jade eyes resonated her unbound contentment every time she glanced at him, as if she was just happy to be alive.

"So you would think politicians would at least -" Her vibrant speech about the caustic views of the governing body came to an abrupt halt as she turned to cough into her curled-up fist.

She pulled her hand away slightly, and Sasuke caught a glimpse of crimson liquid.

"Damn it," she croaked, and erupted into a full coughing convulsion. Her blood showered over her arm as she desperately tried to not make a mess, the hoarseness of her voice only adding to the grotesque scene.

"Sakura, are you o -"

Her panicked eyes silenced him before she turned to the nearest trashcan and violently threw up blood.

* * *

_No. This can't be happening. _

Sakura! _he screams._

_The sound of a heartbeat, faint and vanishing, reaches his ears._

Sir, I'm sorry, but you are not permitted to be here -

_A solid punch to the medic's jaw shuts him up._

_He doesn't know how to control himself in this chaotic haze. Disorder and desperation are all that fill his mind._

_He should've seen this coming._

No, God _no. _Please, Sakura, don't leave me, don't leave…

_Silence is all that responds._

* * *

Her eyes closed, and she gradually slid down the side of the trashcan. Perspiration coated her skin, and her lips parted as she took in gasping breaths.

Sasuke rushed to kneel by her side, gently pulling her diluted form into his arms. He pushed her dampened bangs out of her face as she began to cry softly, breathlessly.

"I-I'm so sor-ry," she panted. "I'm s-so sorry, I'm so s-sorry…"

He just held her wordlessly, waiting patiently until she calmed down and her even breathing filled his ears. And he knew she wasn't going to be able to get rid of him anytime soon - he would make sure of that.

* * *

Sasuke, why don't you like Kiba? He's always so nice to you.

_He turns away and scowls. _

_She looks at him skeptically. _I think we need to find you a girlfriend. You've been acting weird lately. Maybe a little love - _she winks _- will help you out.

_He stares, giving her the most incredulous look in the history of his life._

_He knew she was on crack._

_Because anyone but her pales in comparison._

* * *

"Sasuke, why don't we go get some ice-cream? I'll pay," she said, giving him a wishful look.

Sasuke sighed, relenting.

She laughed. "I knew you'd agree! After all, what's better than free ice-cream?"

"Everything," he muttered.

"You're such a downer, Sasuke," she complained, frowning. "Now, c'mon, let's go before the afternoon rush beats us!"

With a small upward tilt of his lips, he followed her to where his black '97 Chevy Camaro sat in the tilted pavement of his driveway (as a junior in high school, he had just received his licence). He chivalrously held open her door before shutting it closed and getting in on the driver's side.

The nearest ice-cream shop was only about five minutes away; it was one that he and Sakura visited almost religiously (of course, he only went because she wanted to, and he never allowed her to drive because of her…condition). Sakura nearly sprinted to the door (the tiny bell jingling merrily) when they arrived, while Sasuke followed behind her at a much slower pace.

"Okay!" she exclaimed, looking over the hanging menu. "I think I'll take a three scoop waffle cone - one scoop chocolate, another vanilla, and the last one strawberry, please!"

The man running the store at the moment gave her a lopsided grin, his slightly pointed canines flashing. "You sure you can eat all that?"

She smiled. "If I didn't have to pay, I would be ordering twice as much."

"Are you serious?" The man looked surprised.

"Yep, yep," Sakura chimed. "My hunger is never satisfied!"

The man chuckled, and ran a hand through his spiky brown hair. "Well, your order will be coming right up, Miss…?"

"Sakura," she offered. "My name's Sakura."

The man smiled again and reached over the counter to shake her hand. "I'm Kiba. Nice to meet you, Sakura."

Her green eyes widened, staring into Kiba's slit brown ones. Her lips parted.

And then she smiled vibrantly. "It's nice to meet you too, Kiba."

Sasuke watched their post conversation with narrowed eyes. He didn't like the gleam that came into the _man's _eyes whenever he looked at Sakura.

She was his, and he was not going to give her up easily.

* * *

Sasuke? Sasuke, where are you?

_He hears her voice. He knows that he needs to do something, but he can't. He's frozen._

Sasuke, where -

_Her footsteps halt at the entrance to the living room._

Oh my God…S-Sasuke…

_He vaguely feels her arms wrap around his shoulders from where he sits on the ground. _

I'm so sorry, Sasuke. God, I'm so sorry…

_But nothing - not even her voice that is like an angel's to him - can erase the image of his father lying on the floor with a gun in his bloodied hand. His black eyes are open, staring numbly at the ceiling, his mouth parted in an eternal scream._

_His father has finally, _finally _killed himself._

_And what tears Sasuke apart isn't that he doesn't feel sad or angry or like he has lost something precious._

_What tears him apart is the relief that floods him. Because after his mother left, his father was just an empty shell that was slowly wasting away. _

_Now Sasuke doesn't have to watch him anymore._

_And he is relieved to the point that it sickens him._

* * *

"Oh my…" Sakura sighed, her eyes closed as she slid down the side of the door to sit on the ground.

Sasuke flashed to his feet and rushed to her, his voice rising with concern. "Sakura! Sakura, are you al -"

"Shhhh," she mumbled, placing her index finger against his lips to silence him. "I'm perfectly fine, Sasuke. Now…just let me relish in the memory…"

He had stilled when she touched him (a dash of red tinted his cheeks), but now his brows furrowed slightly. What was she talking about?

"What happened, Sakura? Are you hurt?"

Her eyes flashed open, and she lightly swatted him on the head. "I said I'm fine, you idiot! Geez, can't a girl get a little privacy once in a while?"

"You came to my house," he stated bluntly.

"That's because it's either here or the hospital," she bit back. "And frankly, after living there for eleven years since I was six, I'm getting kind of tired of it."

He kept quiet, his eyes scanning her face as she took deep breaths to calm herself.

"I'm sorry for snapping at you," she apologized, finally meeting his gaze.

A small pat to her head and a smirk showed his acceptance. "Just tell me why you were acting so weird and I'll forgive you."

She quickly averted her eyes, her face flushing.

For some reason, even before she spoke, his chest tightened.

A smile grew on her face as she murmured, "Kiba and I went on a date…"

His eyes narrowed to slits.

"…and he kissed me."

* * *

_He stands above his father's newly dug grave, a single white rose held limply in his hand._

_For longer than he can remember, he stands there and stares at the plain tombstone._

_It's not until the shadows of the pine trees blend into the night does he finally leave. As he walks away, he remembers the rose, and, with a burst of anger, tosses it over his shoulder._

_His father is gone, never to return, and Sasuke moves on with his life without looking back. Sakura is waiting for him, and she is far more precious to him than anything else in the world._

_So he continues on, for her._

* * *

She came home (because his home was hers) one day, crying heavily. It was their senior year, and they were going to graduate in another two weeks.

He brought her to the couch as she continued to sob. His shoulder became covered in tears, but he didn't mind. As long as he could offer any form of comfort, he wouldn't care even if she punched him.

She cried for another solid hour before she eventually settled down enough to explain.

"K-Kiba dumped me today," she whispered, her voice rough from so many tears.

He froze, fury rapidly overwhelming his mind.

"He s-said something about you, and h-how he c-could never l-love me as much a-as you do," she continued, her eyebrows pulling together.

He stopped breathing for a moment.

"I mean, what was he talking about?" she exclaimed irately. "I know you love me and all - I love you, too, don't worry - but we're just friends, for God's sake! How could he possibly say such a thing to me…"

Sasuke slowly closed his eyes and silently held her.

Sakura truly was an idiot.

But thank God Kiba wasn't. Because, after all, he was right.

* * *

_Their first kiss happens on a Wednesday. _

_It's winter - they're on break from their sophomore year of college - and fresh, powdery snow coats the ground, its pure white color glimmering from the light of the full moon._

Sasuke, I'm going to get you for that! _she yells, ducking down as she pats another snowball together._

_He smirks. _Come and try. We both know what's going to happen.

_Her eyebrow twitches. _Really, now? Then take this!

_She sprints toward him, and, catching him off guard, tackles him to the ground. She's laughing the whole time, so he doesn't mind._

_Suddenly, though, she stops, and stares from where she straddles him._

_Her breath fawns over his lips as she leans down, her eyes closing along with his._

_And she touches his lips ever so delicately with hers._

_Then she pulls away, and, smiling softly, says, _I love you, Sasuke.

_His eyelids lower imperceptively, and his hand reaches out to thread through her hair. He pulls her down so he can whisper the words in her ear._

I love you, too.

* * *

He had no warning when it happened.

It was a normal day - except for the slight twinge of anxiety that refused to depart - as he and Sakura made their way down the pier - the same one from so many years ago. They had just finished their senior year of college (but of course he and Sakura had many more years, since she was going to become a doctor, and he planned on being a financial lawyer), and all was right in the world...

...mostly.

His hand held hers unnaturally tight, and whenever she glanced at him, he would avert his eyes.

He'd never been so nervous in his life. But he had good reason for it.

He was going to propose to her. Here, above the ocean, under the waning moon, he was going to ask for her hand in marriage.

They stopped at the very end of the pier, leaning gently against the railing as they stared at the vast ocean. It was silent except for the waves, and the last living being they'd come across was a lone raven about a mile back.

"Sasuke," she said, her voice faint, "what would you do if I were to die?"

He slowly turned to look at her. "Why would you even ask that question, Sakura?" He refused to acknowledge that his voice had cracked a little.

She sighed, still gazing at the ocean. "I was just wondering. It's going to happen some day, you know? So I just asked."

Before he could answer, she turned to him and said, "I need to use the bathroom. I'll be right back."

It wasn't until she was halfway down the pier that he realized that there weren't any bathroom facilities for miles - here, it was just sand, the pier, and the ocean.

And it was in that moment that she stumbled, and fell to the ground.

She didn't get back up.

* * *

_If you cry, my heart aches._

_If you're angry, I wait until you're calm to talk to you._

_If you're stressed, I hold you and whisper reassurances._

_If you're happy, it makes me want to smile with you._

_If you live, I live._

_If you go, I follow…_

…_and if you die, I die._

_So please, love, don't leave. You're the only reason I have left for living._

_I'm begging you._

_Please._

_Don't._

_Go._

* * *

He visited her every day.

It scared him, really, to see her lying there, pale and barely breathing, tucked into the white hospital sheets as if death was just waiting to claim her.

He brought her flowers.

They looked nice - very bright and fragrant - for a while. But then he stared at them for an hour, and realized that they seemed to be sucking the vibrancy out of her, their colors and auras suffocating the small white room. So he threw them away.

He held her hand.

It was cold, and for a second he pictured it crumbling to dust beneath his fingertips. But then he raised it, kneeled down, and placed it against his forehead. And he imagined giving all his warmth and health to her, finally healing her from the disease that threatened to take her away.

He watched.

He waited.

And, in his mind, he screamed for her to heal.

* * *

_She opens her eyes, gasping, clutching desperately at the sheets of the hospital bed._

_In an instant he is by her side._

_Her eyes lock on his._

Sasuke, oh, God, Sasuke, I'm not dead. I'm alive, Sasuke, I'm really alive…

_She begins to laugh and cry at the same time._

I'm so happy. God, I'm so happy, Sasuke…

_He holds her in his arms, breathing in her fresh scent, running his hands along her hair, her arms, her face…_

_No longer does he have to fear of losing her. No longer will he fear of being alone. Eventually, they will find a cure for her disease, and they will live to be well beyond their years._

_...unfinished memories brought back to life, never to be lost again._

* * *

**A/N: **This idea has been plaguing my mind for a while now, so I finally decided to sit down and write it. And, yes, people, I KNOW it was confusing - I purposely made it to be that way. I wanted to create something that would let your mind whirl, and allow your own imagination to fill in any blank spots you might have found.

Anyway, I sincerely hope you enjoyed it, and, if you will, PLEASE REVIEW. Any feedback you might have - questions, concerns, criticism - will be welcomed. Even just one word is fine! :)

Please and thank you,

Silver Echo


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